March 06, 2026 - 144 views
School pupils across Wales – including those in North Wales – are being given new ways to explore the history of their communities through a major new online collection of learning resources.
The Hanes Cymru collection has been launched by Adnodd, the national body responsible for developing educational resources for the Curriculum for Wales. The materials are available to schools through the Welsh Government’s digital learning platform Hwb.
The bilingual resources cover thousands of years of Welsh history, from Celtic and Roman times through to the modern era. They include materials to help teachers explore major events and industries that have shaped the country, such as the coal and slate mining industries, the drowning of Cwm Tryweryn and the tragedy of the Aberfan disaster.
A key aim of the project is helping pupils discover their “Cynefin” – a Welsh concept that encourages learners to understand the history, culture and heritage of their own local area.
For schools in North Wales, that could mean exploring the region’s deep connections with the slate industry, which once dominated communities across Gwynedd and parts of Conwy. The industry’s importance was recognised globally when the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2021.
The new materials also feature artwork by Welsh cartoonist Corb Davies, designed to help bring historical stories to life for younger learners.
Wales’ Education Secretary Lynne Neagle said it was important that pupils were able to connect with the country’s past.
“It’s vital that young people learn about our rich and diverse past at school. We want them to be inspired and enthused, and these new resources will help them understand how Wales has been shaped by its past,” she said.
The resources have been developed with guidance from an expert group established by the Welsh Government in 2024 to help ensure Welsh history is better represented in classrooms.
Further expansion of the collection is already planned. Adnodd has committed £150,000 to commission new historical resources and a further £60,000 to develop additional materials to support GCSE History teaching.
The investment forms part of a wider programme to expand the Hanes Cymru collection over the next year, with the aim of giving teachers more tools to bring Welsh history – including the stories of local communities – into classrooms across the country.
